Spraybar



Feb. 11, 1964 J. H. HOLLAND 3,120,927

SPRAYBAR Filed Jan. l4 1963 INVENTOR. JOHN H, HOLLAND United StatesPatent 3,120,927 SPRAYBAR John H. Holiand, Norman, 0kla., assign'or toJ. H. Holland Company, Norman, 0kla., a corporation of Oklahoma FiledJan. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 251,241 7 Claims. (Cl. 239-124) The presentinvention relates generally to the art of liquid spraying, and moreparticularly, but not by way of limitation, relates to an improvedspraybar construction for applying a coat of liquid asphalt or the liketo the surface of a roadbed.

As is well known in the road paving art, the construction of mostbituminous surfaces usually includes the application of one or morecoats of bituminous liquid preparatory to spreading a course of rockchips known as aggregate. The bituminous liquid may be any one ofseveral types referred to generally as either primers or binders, themost common being generically referred to as asphalt. The liquid asphaltchanges viscosity quickly with temperature and must be maintained at arelatively high temperature or it will congeal and tend to plug orfreeze the liquid handling equipment. It is very important in theconstruction of a bituminous surface that the asphalt be distributed ina uniform layer or coat on the roadbed. Accordingly, the volume andspray pattern of the asphalt must be closely controlled. If the liquidasphalt is spread too thin, the aggregate may not be securely held inplace and also the roadbed may not be made completely waterproof. On theother hand, if too much asphalt is applied or if applied unevenly so asto produce thick spots, the liquid will seep or bleed through theaggregate and collect on the surface of the aggregate, which is also anundesirable condition.

Liquid asphalt is presently spread by vehicular equipment known in theart as a distributor which generally includes a relatively large supplytank, a suitable heater for maintaining the asphalt at an elevated,highly fluid temperature, in the general range from 150300 Fahrenheit.An elongated spraybar is disposed transversely across the distributorvehicle, usually at the rear, and the liquid is pumped from the supplytank to the spraybar. A return flow is usually provided to insurecirculatory agitation and uniform heating of the fluid within the supplytank. The spraybar means is usually comprised of elongated conduitshaving a plurality of on-off valves spaced along the bar, each of whichcontrols fluid flowing to a spray nozzle for directing a fan-shapedspray of liquid onto the roadbed. Considerable effort has been directedtoward constructing the spraybar in such a manner that valvescontrolling each of the nozzles, and also the nozzles, are substantiallysurrounded by the hot liquid so that when the valves are closed and thespray nozzles are inoperative, the parts will continue to be heated andliquid asphalt trapped in the valves and in the nozzles will not congealand disrupt operation of the spraybar means.

As previously mentioned, it is essential that the volume rate at whichthe liquid is dispersed be accurately controlled so as to insure a coatof the desired thickness. There are basically two means by which thevolume can be controlled. First, the fluid pressure applied to thenozzle can be maintained constant. Then so long as the resistance tofluid flow through the length of the spraybar and through each nozzleremains constant, the volume of fluid dispersed through each nozzle willbe equal. In practice this is relatively difficult to attain. Previousspraybar constructions have considerable pressure drop as the liquidtravels the length of the spraybar because the valves for controllingeach of the nozzles are normally disposed in the inlet passageway of thespraybar in order to heat the valves by the hot liquid and pose atortuous path for the incoming liquid. Also each time that the spraybaris started and stopped, the pressure regulating means may be incompetentto handle the sudden volume change and pressure surges may result. Thesecond means of controlling the volume dispersed is by controlling thevolume delivered to the spraybar. This type of control usually employs apositive displacement pump which is driven at a constant rate. Whilehaving some merits, this type of system is generally unsatisfactorybecause to be accurate, all liquid must be dispensed from the nozzle andin order to turn the nozzles on or ofl the pump had to be stopped. Whenthis occurred no fluid is circulated through the spraybar andaccordingly there is danger that the liquid asphalt will congeal in thenozzles and disrupt further operations. For these and other reasons, thepositive displacement type spraybar systems are not presently permittedby most State agencies charged with the responsibility of buildingpublic highways and roads.

The present invention contemplates a novel spraybar device comprising ingeneral an input manifold, an outlet manifold, a plurality of fluidpassageways extending between the input manifold and the outletmanifold, a spray nozzle means in fluid communication with each of thefluid passageways, and a three-way valve operatively associated witheach of the passageways for alternately passing fluid through thepassageways or through the respective nozzles. The present inventionalso contemplates a novel spraybar construction which will hereafter beset forth in greater detail.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedspraybar construction having greater reliability of operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedspraybar construction which can be utilized in connection with eitherconstant pressure type or controlled volume type systems.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedspraybar construction wherein the pressure delivered to each of thedistribution nozzles is substantially equal due to the fact that thereis very little pressure drop over the length of the input manifold orover the length of the return flow manifold.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedspraybar construction which can be used in combination with a positivedisplacement pump and yet which can be instantly turned on and oifwithout stopping the pump while maintaining circulation through thespraybar.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedspraybar construction wherein one or more nozzles can be turned off tonarrow the path over which the asphalt is distributed without causing achange in the operating pressure or volume requirements of the spraybar.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide animproved spraybar construction wherein the spraying operation can bestarted and stopped without materially varying the pressure of the fluidin the input manifold.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novelspraybar construction having a solid metallic heat sink disposed aroundall fluid passageways, nozzles and valve bodies, which heat sink is indirect contact with the incoming and outgoing hot liquid asphalt so asto maintain all trapped fluid at an elevated temperature and preventplugging of the passageways, nozzles or valves.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a spraybarconstruction of the type described which can be very easily cleanedafter use and which can be easily disassembled for repairs andreassembled.

Another very important object of the present invention v) is to providean improved spraybar construction which can be very easily andeconomically manufactured and which will have a long, trouble-freeoperating life.

Many additional objects and advantages of the present invention will beevident to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view through a spraybar constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the major components of thespraybar of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the spraybar of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 4 is a top view of one of the valve bodies of the spraybar of FIG.1, showing the fluid passageways therethrough in dotted outline.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, a s'pnaybarconstructed in accordance with the present invention is indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 10. The spraybar is comprised of anelongated valve body housing 12 which is fabricated from a single lengthof metal or similar heat conductive material preferably having a highspecific heat. For orientation purposes, the valve body housing 12 maybe considered as having ends 14 and 16, a top face a bottom face 22, andan inlet side 24 and an outlet side 26.

A plurality of valve cavity bores 23 extend from the bottom face 22 tothe top face 20 and preferably have an upper, conically tapered valvecavity portion 34) and a cylindrical, threaded portion 32 opening to thebottom face 22. It will be noted that the diameter of the cylindricalportion 32 is as great as or slightly greater than the maximum diameterof the conically shaped valve cavity portion 30. A fluid passageway 34intersects each of the valve cavity portions and extends from the inletface 24 to the outlet face 26 so as to form an inlet fluid passageway34a and outlet fluid passageway 34b.

An input manifold 36 is connected to the inlet face 24 of the valve bodyhousing 12. The input manifold 36 is conveniently fabricated fromone-half of a longitudinally split length of standard pipe the ends ofwhich are closed by semi-circular caps 38 and 40*. The input manifold 36may then be connected to the inlet face 24 by weld dicated by thereference numeral 4-8 and may conveniently be fabricated from the otherhalf of the length of standard pipe and closed by semi-circular caps and52, as best seen in FIG. 2. The return flow manifold 48 can be connectedto the outlet face 26 of the valve body housing 12 by weld seams 541and56, as best seen in FIG. 1. A return flow conduit 58- is also connectedto a midpoint of the return flow manifold 43, also preferably at a lowpoint so as to facilitate the elficient removal of liquids. It will beappreciated that the conduits 46 and 58 could be connected to themanifold-s 36 and 48, respectively, at any convenient point withoutcausing excessive pressure drops over the length of the spraybar becauseof the size and flow characteristics of the two manifolds, as willhereafter be described in greater detail. For example, the inlet andoutlet conduits could be connected to the closure caps 38 and 50 ifdesired.

A valve body 60', only one of which is illustrated, is received in eachof the valve cavity portions 30 of the several valve cavity bores 28.Each valve body 60 has a conical taper cor-responding to the conicaltaper of the respective valve cavity portion 30. Each valve body 6t)also has a stem portion 62 which extends upwardly through the bore 28.Each stem portion 62 is provided with a pair of flattened sides 64 and66, as best seen in FIG. 4, which form upwardly facing shoulders 63 andwhich form a keyed portion for receiving an actuating lever armpresently to be described. The uppermost end of the stem 62 iscylindrical and is provided with threads 72 having a maximum diameterless than the distance between the faces 64 and 66. A coil spring 74 isdisposed between a washer 76 contacting the upper face 20 of the valvebody housing 12 and a second washer 78. An actuating lever arm 8% havinga keyed laperture for receiving the keyed portion of the valve stem 62by engaging the faces 64 and 66 is pressed against the shoulders 68 and70 by a washer 82 and nut 84 which is threaded onto the threads 72. Thusit will be noted that the coil spring 74 continually biases the conicalsurface of the valve body 60 against the conical surface of the valvecavity portion 31) of the bore 28 to provide a fluid-tight seal. Thisbias is also assisted to some degree by fluid pressure acting on thebottom face 98 of the valve body 60, as will presently be described.

A suitable nozzle member 86 is screwed into the threaded cylindricalportion 32 of each of the bores 28. The nozzle member 86 has a centralfluid passageway 88 with a restrictive orifice 90 and a diametrica-lgroove 92 of conventional design for producing a fan-shaped spray. Thevalve body 60 is provided with a fluid bypass passageway 94 whichextends through the valve body 60 in such a manner as to simultaneouslyregister with the inlet pasasgeway 34a and outlet passageway 3-412 andthereby provide a continuous fluid passageway from the input manifold 36to the return flow manifold 48-. Another fluid passageway 96 has anopening 96a, as best seen in FIG. 4, which is located at the samerelative height but is cireumferentially spaced approximately 45 degreesfrom the bypass passageway 94 so as to register with the inletpassageway 340. when the valve body 6% is rotated 45 degrees. Thepassageway 96 then extends downwardly at an angle and opens at thecenter of the lower face 98 of the valve body 60 so as to be incontinuous fluid communication with the central bore 88 of the spraynozzle 86. Thus it will be noted that the valve body 66 is what isnormally termed a three-way valve because when the valve body 6b is insuch a position that the passageway 4 registers with the inletpassageway 34a, fluid will pass directly from the input manifold 36 tothe return flow manifold 48, and bypass the spray nozzle 86. Thepassageway 96 and therefore the spray nozzle 36 will be closed. Thisposition of the valve body 60 will hereafter be referred to as thebypass position. When the valve body 60 is rotated approximately 45degrees until the passageway 96 registers with the passageway 34a, thebypass passageway 94- will be closed and fluid will be directed from theinput manifold 36 through the nozzle 86 and sprayed on the roadbed. Thisposition of the valve body 60 will hereafter be referred to as the shootposition. By stopping the valve body 61 at an intermediate position,both the bypass passageway 94 and the spray nozzle passageway 96 can beclosed. This position of the valve body 60 will hereafter be referred toas the off position. The bypass passageways 34 and 94 are preferablysized so as to create the same magnitude pressure drop as the passageway96 and nozzle 86 so that the same pressure drop will occur whether thevalve bodies are in shoot position or bypass position.

A gang bar 100 extends between the outer ends of the several actuatinglever arms 80 and is connected to each by a suitable pin 10?; which mayconveniently have a stop disc 104 for engaging the gang bar and a fingerring 106 to assist removal. A cotter key 103 may be inserted through asuitable bore in the lower end of the pin 102 to prevent accidental lossof the pin 102. A washer 110 may be disposed between the gang bar 199and each of the lever arms 80 to reduce friction and promote freeoperation in the conventional manner. The gang bar 192) provides a meansfor simultaneously actuating all of the lever arms 8i? so as to providesimultaneous operation of the several three-way bodies 60, and thereforeof the spray nozzles. The gang bar 100 may be manually actuated bysuitable linkage means connected to one of the lever arms 80 or to thegang bar 100', but preferably is actuated by a suitable fluid motor 112.The cylinder 114 of the fluid motor 112 may be pivotally connected tothe spraybar 10 or associated structure by a suitable bracket and pin116 and the piston rod 118 of the motor connected by a suitable pin 120to an extension 122 of one of the lever arms 80. Suitable stop means(not illustrated) may be provided to limit travel of the lever arms 80at the bypass and shoot positions of the valve bodies 60.

From the above description, it will be evident to those skilled in theart that the spraybar It can be very easily and economicallymanufactured. The valve body housing 12 may be formed from a singleelongated block of suitable metal having the general cross sectionalshape illustrated. The valve cavity bores 28 may be drilled, conicallyreamed and tapped by equipment found in the simplest machine shop. Thebypass bores forming the passageways 34 may also be very rapidly drilledeither successively by a single drill or simultaneously by multipledrills. The valve body housing 12 will then be complete. The input andreturn flow manifolds 36 and 48, respectively, may be formed merely bysplitting a length of pipe and closing the ends by welding the caps 38,40, 50 and 52 and the input and return flow conduits 46 and 58,respectively, in place. The manifolds 36 and 43 can then be easilywelded to the valve body housing 12. The threeway valve bodies 60 andnozzles 86 may be machined on a mass production basis by conventionalmachining methods. It will be noted that the only close tolerancesrequired are the matching tapers of the conically tapered valve bodies60 and the conically tapered valve cavity portions of the bores 23.Assembly of the spraybar 10 is then accomplished merely by inserting thevalve bodies 60 in the valve cavity portions 3% and threading thenozzles 86 into the threaded cylindrical portions 32 of the bores 28.Next the washer 76, the spring 74, the washer 78, the lever arm 80, andthe washer 82 are placed over the valve body stem 62 and the nut '84tightened until the lever arm 8t) abuts tightly against the shoulders 68and 70. The lever arms Si) can then be interconnected by the gang bar106 and the fluid motor 112 connected as previously described tocomplete the assembly. A portion of the assembly process can, of course,be reversed in order to remove any one of the valve bodies 60 forrepair.

In operation, the spraybar 16 is normally disposed parallel to thesurface to be coated and will usually be disposed in a horizontalposition and connected to a vehicle having a source of hot asphalt underpressure. The hot asphalt is introduced to the input manifold 36 throughthe inlet conduit 46. Assuming that the valve bodies 60 are in thebypass position, the hot asphalt will then pass through the inletpassageways 34a, through the bypass passageways 94 in the respectivevalve bodies, and through the outlet passageways 34b into the returnflow manifold 48, and will then be returned to the source through thereturn flow conduit 58.

The hot asphalt in the input manifold 36 and the return flow manifold 48is in direct heat exchange relationship with the valve body housing 12such that the housing 12 is efficiently heated to substantially the sametemperature as the asphalt. Thus it will be noted that the mass of thevalve body housing 12 serves as a heat sink. The valve body 69 willcontinually be heated by the hot asphalt passing through the bypasspassageway 94 and also by reason of the fact that it is in close slidingengagement with the valve body housing 12. The spray nozzle member 86 isin good heat transfer relationship with the valve body housing 12 byreason of the tight threaded connections 32 and also will be maintainedat a temperature substantially as high as the hot asphalt fluid.Therefore it will be appreciated that what little liquid asphalt may betrapped in the spray nozzles, the

valve cavities and the passageways of the valve bodies will continuallybe heated and will remain highly fluid so as to prevent freezing andpromote reliable operation.

When the actuating lever arms are moved by operation of the fluid motor112 and shift the valve bodies from the bypass position to the shootposition so as to rotate the valve bodies approximately 45 degrees, thepassageway 96 is moved into register with the inlet passageway 34a andhot asphalt from the input manifold 36 will be directed to the spraynozzle member 86 and expelled from the restrictive orifice 90 in afan-shaped spray pattern by the diametrical groove 92. The diametricalgrooves 92 of the several spray nozzle members 86 can be arranged in anysuitable manner but normally will be oriented at an angle to thelongitudinal length of the spraybar means so that the sprays from theadjacent nozzles will overlap without intermingling. The hot asphaltwill continue to enter the input manifold 36 and the inlet passageway34a of the valve body housing 12. The hot asphalt will also be passingthrough the passageway 95 in the valve body 60 so that it will bedirectly heated and maintained at a hih temperature and, of course, thespray nozzle members 86 will also be heated by direct fluid contact andmaintained at a high temperature.

The hot asphalt under pressure will act on the lower face 98 of thevalve body 64 and assist the spring 74 in urging the valve body 6t) intofluid sealing engagement with the valve cavity portion 30 of the valvecavity bore 28. When all of the valve bodies 60 are in the shootposition it will be appreciated that no asphalt will be delivered to thereturn flow manifold 48. In most cases this will not present a problembecause the valve body housing 12 will continue to be heated by the hotasphalt in the input manifold 36 and will in turn conduct the heat tothe asphalt standing in the return flow manifold 48. However, as aprecautionary measure against cooling and congealing of the asphalt inthe return flow manifold 48, a fluid passageway 136 may extendcompletely through each end of the valve body housing 12 in order topermit a restricted volume of fluid to pass into the return flowmanifold 48 and provide some agitation and heating to preventcongealing. For purposes which will hereafter become more evident, thevolume of asphalt bypassed in this manner should be maintained as low aspossible.

When the valve bodies 60 are shifted to positions intermediate thebypass and shoot positions, both the bypass passageway and the spraynozzle members will be turned off. Although there is very little reasonto ever use this position, if it is so desired a means for providing atleast some bypass such as the passageway 139 would have to be providedor no circulation of hot asphalt could be attained through either theinput manifold 3-6 or the return flow manifold 48.

As previously mentioned, the spraybar means 10 can be used incombination with either a constant pressure type or constant volume typeasphalt supply system. For example, assume first that a constantpressure system is to be employed. The uniform dispersement of asphaltis dependent upon the maintenance of the same fluid pressure at each ofthe spray nozzle members 86. It will be noted that the input manifold 36provides a very clean and relatively large fluid passageway whichextends the entire length of the spraybar means without anyinterruptions or interference. Therefore, the pressure applied to theseveral inlet passageways 34a will be substantially equal, even if theinlet and return flow conduits 46 and 58, respectively, are connected atone end of the respective input and return flow manifolds. Since thepassageways 96 through the several valve bodies 60 and the passageways88 and orifices 90 of the several spray nozzle members 86 are of thesame size and length, the fluid pressure applied to each of theseorifices will be substantially equal. While the actuating lever arms 80are being shifted to rotate the valve bodies .58 from the shoot positionto the bypass position, there will be a momentary rise in the pressurewithin the input manifold 36 because all passageways are momentarilyclosed. Therefore, the actuating lever arms 80 should be mo ed asrapidly as possible. If desired, the passageways 94 and 96 can beoriented closer together so as to require a lesser degree of rotation ofthe valve bodies so. However, as soon as the passageway 94 registerswith the inlet passageway 34a and the outlet passageway 34!) so that theliquid asphalt can pass to the return flow manifold 48, the pressure inthe input manifold will quickly be restored to the pressure that existedwhen the valve bodies were in shoot position because the pressure dropof the liquid passing through the bypass passageway means issubstantially equal to the pressure drop when the liquid is passingthrough the spray nozzles. Since the same pressure conditions exist, thesame volume of fluid will be entering the input manifold 36. Therefore,it will be appreciated that the range of flow rates which the pressureregulating means of the constant pressure system must regulate will bereduced, thereby permitting greater accuracy. Since the return flowmanifold 48 is also very clean and relatively large, the fluid leavingeach of the outlet passageways 34b will encounter substantially the sameback pressure because no appreciable pressure drop will occur over thelength of the return flow manifold 4-8.

As previously mentioned, an important advantage of the present inventionis that one or more of the spray nozzles 86 can be turned off so as tovary the width of the asphalt coat laid down without appreciablychanging the volume requirements and operating pressures of a constantpressure system so that the pressure regulating means is not required tosnake an appreciable change. This can be accomplished very simply byremoving the pin 162 connecting the actuating lever arm 86 of theparticular valve body 6% which it is desired to disconnect and manuallymoving the lever arm into a bypass position. Then the same volume whichnormally would have been directed through the nozzle member 86 willalways be bypassed into the return flow manifold 48. Since the pressuredrop and volume flow remains the same whether the liquid is directedthrough the spray nozzles or through the bypass passageways,substantially the same volume will be required in the input manfold 36to maintain the preselected constant pressure. In the event thepermanent bypass passageways 136' are provided in the valve body housing12, the quantity of liquid bypassed through these passageways will berelatively small and insignificant and will not materially affectoperation of the spraybar means '16, as described above.

Assume now that the spraybar means is to be operated in combination witha constant valume type asphalt supply system. In other words, assumethat a constant volume of asphalt is delivered to the input manifold 36regardless of the pressure existing in the input manifold. Even when aconstant volume supply system is utilized, the volume dispersed fromeach particular spray nozzle member 86 will always be directly relatedto the fluid pressure at the orifice 90 of the particular spray nozzlemember. The pressure drop as the liquid travels along the input manifoldshould be negligible so that, for any given volume introduced to theinput manifold, the pressure at the respective spray nozzles will beequal. When the valve bodies 68 are shifted to the bypass position, thepressure within the input manifold 36 will, of course, fluctuateupwardly during the brief period that all passageways are closed.However, as soon as the valve bodies 60 reach the bypass position, thesame volume of liquid will be passed through the valve body housing 1 2to the return flow manifold 43 with the same pressure drop such that thepressure within the input manifold 36 will quickly return to the samepressure that existed when the valve bodies 69 were in the shootposition. Therefore it will be appreciated that the positivedisplacement or other constant volume pump can continue'to operate atthe same rate. Also, it will be appreciated that the pressure within theinput manifold 36 is always at the desired high value prior to shiftingthe valve body 64 to the shoot position. Therefore, when the valvebodies are shifted from the bypass" to the shoot positions, the fulldesired volume of liquid will be instantaneously sprayed from each ofthe nozzles 86, thereby greatly reducing the problem involved in gettingthe spraying operation underway.

As described above, any one or more of the actuating lever arms 89 canbe disconnected from the gang bar ass and moved into the bypass positionin order to reduce the width of the asphalt coat laid down withoutchanging the volume requirements or operating pressure within the inputmanifold 36. Even if the permanent bypass passageways 136 are provided,the volume passed through these passageways will be sufficiently smallas to be insignificant and of no appreciable consequence.

- spraybars of substantially any length can be fabricated in thismanner. Also, two or more spraybars as described can be pivotallyinterconnected by a simple hinge. Flexible jumper conduits may theninterconnect the several input manifolds and the several return flowmanifolds of the sections because of the relatively low pressure dropthrough the manifolds. It will also be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that a very economical and simple construction has beendisclosed which will have a full and economical operating life.

Although a particular embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed in detail, it is to be understood that various changes,substitutions and alterations can be made in the structure disclosedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground, comprising:

means forming an inlet fluid passageway;

means forming a return flow fluid passageway extending generallyparallel to the inlet fluid pasageway;

means forming a plurality of bypass fluid passageways extending betweenthe inlet fluid passageway and the return flow fluid passageway;

a corresponding number of spray'nozzle means influid communication withthe inlet fluid passageway for spraying the liquid onto the surface;and,

three-way valve means operatively associated with each of the bypassfiuid passageways and respective spray nozzle means for selectivelydirecting the passage of fluid from the inlet passageway alternatelythrough the spray nozzle means or through the bypass fluid passageway tothe return flow fluid passageway.

2. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground as defined in claim 1 wherein:

each of the three-way valve means is disposed between the inlet andreturn flow fluid passageways and is in heat exchange relationship withliquid in at least one of the passageways.

3. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground as defined in claim 2 wherein:

the spray nozzle means-is in heat exchange relationship with the liquidin at least one of the inlet and return flow fluid passageway means.

4. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground, comprising:

an elongated valve body housing fabricated of heat conductive material;

input manifold means connected to one side of the valve body housing toform an inlet fluid passageway;

a return flow manifold means connected to another side of the valve bodyhousing to form a return flow fluid passageway;

a plurality of valve cavities formed in the valve body housing;

a plurality of bypass fluid passageways extending through the valve bodyhousing, each bypass fluid passageway extending between the inlet andreturn flow fluid passageways and intersecting a valve cavity;

spray nozzle means having a fluid passageway in fluid communication witheach valve cavity and having spray means for directing a spray of liquidonto the surface; and,

three-way valve means in each valve cavity for selectively directingliquid from the inlet fluid passageway alternately to the spray nozzlepassageway or through the bypass fluid passageway to the return flowfluid passageway.

5. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground as defined in claim 4 wherein:

each valve cavity is formed by a conically tapered bore extendingtransversely through the valve body houseach three-way valve means iscomprised of a conically tapered valve body rotatably disposed in thevalve cavity and having an actuating stem extending from one end of thetapered bore; and,

each spray nozzle means is comprised of an insert in the other end ofthe tapered bore.

6. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground as defined in claim 5 wherein:

the actuating stem extends from the small end of the 5 conical valvebody through the small end of the tapered bore, and furthercharacterized by an actuating lever arm connected to each actuating stemfor rotating the respective valve body; and,

spring means disposed between each actuating lever arm and the valvebody housing for urging the conically tapered valve body into fluidsealing engagement with the conically tapered valve cavity.

7. An improved spraybar for distributing a liquid such as asphalt on asurface such as the ground as defined in claim 6 further characterizedby:

a gang bar for interconnecting the several actuating lever arms forsimultantously actuating the valve bodies; and,

fluid motor means operatively connected to one of the gang bar and leverarms for actuating the gang bar and lever arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSFOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Nov. 30, 1957

1. AN IMPROVED SPRAYBAR FOR DISTRIBUTING A LIQUID SUCH AS ASPHALT ON ASURFACE SUCH AS THE GROUND, COMPRISING: MEANS FORMING AN INLET FLUIDPASSAGEWAY; MEANS FORMING A RETURN FLOW FLUID PASSAGEWAY EXTENDINGGENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE INLET FLUID PASSAGEWAY; MEANS FORMING APLURALITY OF BYPASS FLUID PASSAGEWAYS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE INLET FLUIDPASSAGEWAY AND THE RETURN FLOW FLUID PASSAGEWAY; A CORRESPONDING NUMBEROF SPRAY NOZZLE MEANS IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH THE INLET FLUIDPASSAGEWAY FOR SPRAYING THE LIQUID ONTO THE SURFACE; AND, THREE-WAYVALVE MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THE BYPASS FLUIDPASSAGEWAYS AND RESPECTIVE SPRAY NOZZLE MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY DIRECTINGTHE PASSAGE OF FLUID FROM THE INLET PASSAGEWAY ALTERNATELY THROUGH THESPRAY NOZZLE MEANS OR THROUGH THE BYPASS FLUID PASSAGEWAY TO THE RETURNFLOW FLUID PASSAGEWAY.